Hello! Hope everyone is having a lovely day! It’s about to get EVEN BETTER cos here I am to share last week’s daily drawings. Enjoy!

8th MarchIt seems like such a long time since I painted this! Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of forgotten if there was any kind of story behind it. I think I was just feeling my delayed teen angst again. Also they’re my two favourite colours in my watercolour pallet.

9th MarchI really like mermaids! And having fun. Also all mermaids really like cats and they dream about being able to keep them as pets, which is kind of sad because can you imagine a cat living underwater?

10th MarchI was still stuck on mermaids but it’s OK because I’ve made a promise not to try to draw them again. But it’s double OK because I will definitely break that promise.

11th MarchI really really love American pageant culture. I could watch Toddlers and Tiaras all day long, it is so fascinating to me! Also I had just been watching Crufts, and also I watched Drop Dead Gorgeous for the millionth time that weekend too and its still one of my favourite films. Anyway, cat pageant.

12th MarchI really like these pages. Just a bit of watercolour and mark making but I think it works.

13th MarchIt’s the return of Sad Floral Cat! Also while I was painting this I knocked over my entire water pot all over the place. Also it was Friday 13th, so coincidence? I think not.

14th MarchI do like these pages but also before I started drawing I had this old work I made years ago in my head that I wanted it to look like but for some reason the charcoal pencils I was using wouldn’t transfer their print properly so it came out a bit forced and smudgy and not like a ghost at all. This is one of the rare times where I think the inclusion of cats takes away from the work. Don’t h8 me.

Meow! It’s a couple of days late but here’s a look back at the week’s daily drawings!
Last week I was viciously slammed (not really) by one of my regular blog readers at my seeming lack of enthusiasm for some of my drawings, which got me thinking a little about some of the pros and cons of the project. While I love the fact that it forces me to create something every day, sometimes on the days where inspiration doesn’t hit me in the face it can feel a bit forced, which means I end up resenting what I’ve created which means sometimes there’s not much to say. I’m thinking this is something I will work on through the year, but in the meantime I’ll try my best to keep it positive!

Now! Back to our scheduled programming!

1st MarchNow that I don’t have to work on Sundays I get to do things like watch Sunday morning cooking shows. I can’t remember which one was on but they were foraging for herbs and they had a really sharp knife. I really like sharp knives so it was in my head to draw one and that is the first thing I drew. The book is Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

2nd MarchMost of the time when I do my daily drawings I don’t have time to get my proper paints out so I use these basic Reeve’s watercolours most of the time. The colours are super limiting so it’s always nice to try out shape and pattern with them as an under-image for the cats on top!

3rd March

Not gonna lie, this is probably one of my favourite drawings to do so far. Swearing is as fun as drawing cats. Also I think I’ve mentioned before my anti-inspirational-quote mentality…

4th MarchA bit of a doodly day but I was glad to find my pack of felt tip pens I’d forgotten about!

5th MarchJust a bit of my delayed teen angst coming through.

6th MarchCats like sitting and watching you through the grass and then at night they all meet up and talk about all the dumb things they saw you do throughout the day. Cats are better than you and they know it. That’s why all cats are creeps and I love them.

7th MarchI guess I had this word in my head from the day before but also I think this thought at least once a day. Everything is creepy. The internet is creepy. Now turn off your computer and go outside and play.

It’s one week today until Mother’s Day in the UK (15th March) so I thought I would get together a lovely little gift guide with cards and gifts from Etsy sellers across the UK. First up, my pick of the nicest cards!

Well, I feel like I would be betraying myself if I didn’t start off with something from the I like CATS shop! Here’s my latest card which is perfect for all the purrrfect mums of the world, featuring my princess kitty illustration. Find it here!

This card by LHdesign features Lola’s hand lettering. I love how simple yet heartfelt it is. Another great thing about this card is that 50p of all sales go to Women’s Aid, the UK charity helping women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. Find it here!

This card by Pygmy Cloud is the cutest!!! I can deffo relate to the little happy cloud. Here’s hoping for some lovely sunshine for all the mums on Mother’s Day! Find it here!

helloDODO designs always have a clever twist, and I love the hidden heart in their Mother’s Day card. Find it here!

// CARDS

There are many pieces of jewellery in designosaur‘s shop that mum’s will LOVE, but you really just can’t go wrong with this chicken brooch! Find it here!

These lovely new floral necklaces by i am acrylic have been inspired by a 1940s silk scarf and the Iris flowers of Ruth’s childhood. They are so sweet and I love the colour combinations! Find them here!

For a gift that’s more personal, Actually I Do creates beautiful custom embroidery hoops with your choice of word or message. It gets extra points cos it’s like a card and a gift in one! Find it here!

For the crafty mum, Yellow Bear Ware’s upcyled knitting and crochet needle jewellery is a really beautiful and inspired gift. Have a look in the YBW shop for lots of different colour combinations in rings, necklaces and earrings. Find the necklace pictured here!

Do have a look at all the shops featured, they all have really lovely things for sale! Leave a comment and let me know if you’ve been inspired by any of my picks!

Pinch punch first of the month! Happy March everyone!
So two months of daily drawings are done and dusted, bring on the next ten! Here’s a look back at the last seven days of my little sketchbook of kitties.

February 22nd

This was my last day of work! Yay! This was the last day I had to pre-paint and background to be able to make an interesting drawing in my lunch break! The lyrics are FKA Twigs which I have in my head constantly and was probably listening to at the time of painting it.

23rd FebruaryHmm I hate when I end up doing pages like these, not much to em is there. I guess they’re OK to look at.

24th FebruaryAlso I need to stop just taking pictures from my phone cos most of them are blurry without me realising until I get them up here.

25th FebruaryI get influenced really easily by whatever music I’m listening to at the time of drawing. This was a Beyonce day. (most days are tho am I right). I actually really like these pages but the one on the left took forever to paint. Well not really that long but I am busy and impatient.

26th FebruaryI had this little monkey in my head and just had to draw him. He might appear again because I thought he was pretty cute.

27th FebruaryAnother blurry one, soz. Just cats N plants really.

28th FebruaryI really didn’t know where I was going with this one even while I was painting all the cats and I wasn’t really happy with it but then I added the text and it all came together. In other news I found that shark tooth on the beach at the weekend! So cool!!!!

I’ve recently been working with Bristol based porcelain artist Little Birdy for a collaborative collection of brooches, pendants and figurines. Each piece has been hand sculpted by Little Birdy based on my illustrations, and then hand painted by me. They are SO CUTE and I can’t wait for the collab to launch in my Etsy shop tomorrow. Here’s a little look at some of the pieces that will be for sale…

There are just 20 pieces available in this first collection. All of the figurines are completely one of a kind, and there are just a few of each brooch and necklace.

These two white cats are probably my favourites from the collection, they both have little golden toes and feature two of my signature markings for their fur. Secretly I’m hoping they get bought together as a set as they look so sweet together!

Pushmepullyous alpacas are one of Little Birdy’s most popular designs (and they’re what bought us together, after I bought one from her late last year), so I was thrilled that the collection could include a pushmepullyou cat! It is so sweet, and has little golden toes and ears, with a floral design on their fur. There is just one of these available – there was 2 but one of them was damaged in the making and then I couldn’t bear to part with it. Sorry!

This decorative spoon is so special and lovely! I love how the gold looks, and I decided to keep decoration quite minimal on this one, mainly adding polka dot accents.

There are 4 of these pendants available, they are just too cute!

There are two floral cats available, each one slightly different. This is the bigger of the two, i like how sturdy these ones are, they’re a really pleasing shape! You may have seen my ‘Sad floral cat’ illustrations and lino prints in the past – well these are the Happy floral cat versions!

And here’s the smaller of the Happy floral cats!

So excited for the launch, as you can see everything is super limited edition so be sure to set an alarm for 7pm tomorrow when everything goes live in my Etsy shop! Not featured in this post; brooches and a very lovely hanging planter!

So far 2015 has hit me at a million miles an hour and I haven’t had a break at all since Christmas, with lots of projects on the go with I like CATS and at work (we launched a new magazine! Take a look). Anyway with that being said I’m super happy that I’ve been keeping up with my daily drawings, so here’s a look back at the last week…

15th FebruaryThis was a drawing of this spooky man we saw that was just standing there haunting us while we were out dancing, so I thought he might have been a ghost. A few days later I was informed that it was actually us that encircled him and he had been there with more people before we scared them off. Idk he was still spooky and still possibly deceased.

17th FebruaryI was pleased with this one because I had it in my head and it mostly turned out as I was thinking. I always like them when I take the time to get my paints out, so here’s a future note to myself not to be lazy.

18th FebruaryThis one isn’t V exciting, just catz & deathly hallowz.

19th FebruaryThis was a quick little watercolour, mostly I was just excited about getting my Mickey Tsum in the picture. ILY MICKEY TSUM.

20th FebruaryLook! Future Toby listened! More painty and I love this one. I don’t know if any of my Etsy pals recognised the reference, but it was definitely inspired by this image here. I’ve had it in my head since I first saw it, so nice isn’t it.

21st FebruarySad floral cat is sad and smudgey.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this insight into my daily drawings, see you again same time next week for more, or find me on Instagram to see them as they come each day!

You may remember that last year I took part in a blog hop, where I answered three questions and then nominated three more people to answer the same via their blogs. Well that was lots of fun so I was happy to be nominated again (this time by designosaur) for a new hop, this time one created by and for the Brighton Etsy Team (of which I am a leader, yay!) SO! Here are some questions I’ve tried to answer for you…

1. What inspired you to start your business or Etsy shop?
I opened my first etsy shop back in 2009 when I was an art student making weird knitted things. It didn’t really go to plan and when I didn’t sell anything I didn’t renew my listings and forgot the shop existed. Three years later in 2012 I had graduated and moved to Brighton, needing an outlet for my creativity and having met some awesome people like DB Illustrations, I started again! There was more weird knitting, but thankfully that’s gone now. Also thankfully people now actually buy my things!

2. We’re looking at goals in the Brighton Etsy Team this month, can you share one of your goals for the next six months?
My main goal is to get more seasonally organised in advance. I want to be ready for everything around 3 months before they happen… so far I’m a little behind as Mother’s Day is less than a month away and my card is yet to be listed in my shop (it’s coming really soon!), but Mothers Day in the USA isn’t until May so I’m ahead somewhere! Just as long as I have my Christmas prep started in July I’ll be happy! (No jokes…)

3. What are you working on at the moment?
I have three collaborations in the works with designosaur (which we started back last June… it’s almost ready though!), porcelain artist Little Birdy and animal hood grand masters Merrimaking (they were making the hoods before anyone else dontchaknow). They’ll all be released in the next month or so and then I’m focusing on new things! New designs, new products. I’ve also been doing a lot of drawing and painting so hoping to get more original works for sale.

4. If you could give other sellers or someone looking to start their own craft business one piece of advice, what would you say?
Don’t expect everything to happen at once, it takes a bit of work to get started. Make sure you’re actually selling good things people want to buy. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t make your first etsy sale within an hour. Think big! And don’t be a copycat.

Hope you enjoyed reading this mini interview, I now have to nominate some more people from the Brighton Etsy Team. First up I would like to choose illustrator extraordinaire Cheska of Mooshpie, Secondly I nominate Lucy of Peas and Needles who I don’t know personally but I found through the BtnEtsy blogroll (she has the most beautiful blog! blog envy!). Finally I choose clothesmaking duo Emperor’s New Clothes. Answer the questions above and nominate three more people to join in!